Guardian
by verecund
Summary: You can be my knight, but I will be the shield that protects you.


Sniffles. Crying. Wails. And the occasional distressed howl.

Everyone in the room was grief-stricken at the loss of their beloved friend. She died all too soon of cancer. No one held back their emotions...

Except for the boy.

He, the son of the woman who had just passed, kept a straight face. This led to criticisms of him: "What a heartless boy!" "How can he be so calm?" "Well he's alone now. Serves him right since he doesn't care about his ma!"

The boy flinched at the words that were not exactly meant for his ears. But he could not blame the people for thinking so. He was just as shocked as anyone. So much so that he didn't know how to deal with the sudden turn of events. The last time he saw his mother she was getting better! She looked much healthier than she did earlier that year. Needless to say, it was a big blow for him. Back in the room, he maintained his facade. He had to be strong. He had to be strong for his mother. Or at least act like it.

The main ceremony ended and boy had to move to a different room. In there, a picture of his mother was placed on a platform. Flowers adorned the frame and containers filled with incense were set on either side of the photo.

He, the now orphan, sat beside his "mother" and catered to the people who entered the room. Many visited and grieved. He kept his face the whole time.

It was late at night when the last person shuffled out of the room.

The boy cried.

He cried his eyes out. The emotions that were bottled up during the day came flowing out like a rushing river. His small frame shook as he let out distressed moans of his own. It wasn't a pretty sight, but he didn't care. He was alone and he could let it all out.

It was quite some time before he calmed down. His body wasn't fully steady yet and sobs still escaped his lips every now and then.

"Inigo?"

Hm? He was supposed to be alone. He sniffed before replying and hurriedly wiped away his tears, trying to look as presentable as possible. He turned his head in the direction of the voice. "That's me. Um, may I help you with anything, miss?"

The woman in front of him was clad in a simple, black dress. Extrapolating from that, he guessed that she had attended his mother's funeral. Why she had stayed back for long he did not know.

"You."

"E-excuse me?"

The woman was amused by his reaction. However, seeing the boy, his light hair all disheveled, his puffed up brown eyes, and the tints of pink that painted his face brought her back to situation at hand.

"My name is Robin Aegis," she began.

"Oh! I know you!" Inigo exclaimed at his realization. She would often come by and help out his mother. Of course in the state that he was in right now, it's understandable that he wouldn't initially recognize her.

"Mmhm. And I can proudly say that I am- was Olivia's closest friend." A sad smile formed on her lips.

"What does that have to do with me, though?" he inquired, cocking his head to the side.

"It has everything to do with you," she started again, "With your mom gone, you're an orphan now, correct?"

"That's correct." The light-haired youth frowned at the thought.

"Well...how would you like to stay with me?" Robin offered.

The boy gave her a skeptical look. "How are you going to take care of me when you're so _young_?!"

"That's true." The woman tapped a finger on her chin. "But I'm certainly not incapable. I may be only twenty, however-" she was cut off by Inigo.

"TWENTY?! You're only _six_ years older than me _and_ you have your whole life ahead of you! It's like you're _asking_ to be a single mother at such a _young_ age!" The boy was good at emphasizing, she gave him that.

"Exactly."

He was aghast. He was utterly blown away by the sheer insanity of the woman's notions.

"Actually, Olivia told me to watch over you if anything were to happen to her. Despite her improving condition, she knew that she didn't have time left. So she made a plan and I accepted to carry it through. Of course," she paused momentarily and placed a finger on Inigo's lips to prevent him from interrupting her, "she never asked me to do what I'm doing right now. "

"So why?" The boy wanted to sound more intelligible than that, but he couldn't find a better way to phrase the question.

"Why? Because I wanted to," came the simple answer. She knelt down and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Yes, I wanted to do it for Olivia, but also on my own accord. Plus I think it's more appealing to stay with a friend of your mother's rather than possibly getting adopted by some strange family."

He couldn't argue with that reasoning. Well...he might as well cover all of the questions.

"How?"

"How am I going to provide for you and me, you mean?" she asked. He nodded, thoroughly curious how all of this will work.

"Somehow." Inigo didn't like the sound of that. "In any case, the least amount of time you would need to be with me is four years. You'll be eighteen by then and a legal adult. If, by chance, you happen to dislike me, you're free to go off on your own and live your life. On the other hand, you are _always_ welcome to stay longer. I certainly wouldn't mind the company."

The boy felt touched by her kind words. He still felt a bit unsure, but her what she had just said to him brought him a sense of security.

"So, what do you say?"

"I say..." he began slowly, wanting to prolong his answer to tease her a bit. Robin caught on to his intentions, though, and smiled.

"Okay," the boy finished. She beamed, clearly happy with his response. Then the woman clapped her hands together. "Now that that's settled, let's clean this mess of a place up!"

The room _was_ a mess. There were tissues laying everywhere on the floor and empty alcohol bottles were scattered all across the tables. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to regain the dignity of the room.

"Let's head on out to your house, Inigo," Robin called with a wave of her hand.

"Just a second!" replied Inigo as he went to retrieve his mother's photo. Afterward they hopped into Robin's car.

"Once we get to your place, I want you to pack up the things that you need and/or want. We'll stay the night since it's already pretty late. In the morning we'll finish up packing, tidy up the house, and then head on over to my place. Sound good?" the woman explained as she drove.

"That's fine with me. Also, thank you." The light-haired boy shuffled in his seat.

"No problem."

* * *

The drive was relatively quiet during the whole duration. Some questions were asked, mostly personal ones like, "What's your favorite color?" or "Have you ever gotten your hand stuck in a peanut butter jar?"

The sky was pitch black as they arrived at Inigo's house. The two got out of the car and headed indoors. "I'll go fetch some boxes, you go and start finding the things that you want to take. I want to get as much done as possible," said Robin as she scoured the rooms for cardboard. "Yes ma'am." The boy gave a playful salute.

The twenty-year old looked at the clock. "Okay Inigo. It think we should call it a day." The boy looked up, he was visibly tried. She assumed she looked the same. "Let's wash up. You should go first since I think you need it the most." The boy eagerly went towards the bathroom. Then paused. "Don't worry, boy. I won't peek." His face turned deep scarlet, surprised that she knew what he was thinking.

Most of things were set aside so the pair had to create makeshift beds. They slept in the same room, mostly because of Robin's insisting. She didn't think it would be right to leave the boy alone. Just in case...something were to happen.

"Ms. Aegis?" Inigo called out. "Are you awake?"

"Mmhm. I am. You can just call me Robin, though," she replied rather groggily. "Is there something wrong?"

The youth detected a bit of panic in her voice and quickly reassured her. "No, nothing's wrong. I was just wondering..."

"Wondering what?" Robin asked as she turned on her side to face the child.

"Your real reason for taking me in. I mean, I know that mother asked you, but no one would ever go this far to take on the burden of raising a kid. Even if it was for a friend...right?" Inigo looked expectantly at the woman, waiting for her response.

"First of all, you are _not_ a burden. Don't ever say that again. Okay?" The young boy shook his head furiously, taken aback by her sudden change in tone.

"But back to the question. I'm going to tell you a bit about myself and hopefully you'll understand by the end of it. Good?"

"...Good."

"When I was younger I lived with my grandfather. My mom and dad both died in an car crash when I was six and the only living relative able to take care of me was him. My grandfather was the greatest person you could ever hope to know, Inigo." Robin did her best to hold back her emotions and carried on. "Of course, he was already pretty old when I was taken in. It was alright for the first few years, but I could see his health deteriorate by the day. I came back home from school one day and got a phone call that he was in the hospital. I rushed in and saw him laying down on the bed. I must have cried a river." Inigo went to wipe the tears away from Robin's face. "Thank you. The next day he died. I was truly alone. I was admitted into an orphanage since no one else could care for me. It was alright, but my life certainly wasn't fantastic. I was around your age when I met your mother and it's safe to say that she's my savior. You know how wonderful she is- was."

"Yeah."

"Fast forward to today. Inigo, when I saw you there, I saw myself. Sure I wanted to repay Olivia for her kindness. Please excuse me," Robin said as she went to clean up the rest of her tears, "But I want to take care of you so that you have a better future. You are so young and to lose your only family member is heartbreaking. You need someone who will guide you for a bit on your journey through life and I am willing to do just that. If you will have me, that is. You can still chang-"

"I will! I will Robbie, I will!" The boy was letting out soft sobs and snuggled into Robin's arms. No amount of words could describe how much the woman's story affected him. She held him close. She made her resolution to stay with him, to protect him, until he was ready to let go. Slowly and steadily, the two fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

Morning came quickly and the rest of house, as planned, was cleaned up.

"Inigo?"

"Yes?"

"What would you like to do with this house?"

"I don't know. I suppose we could sell it..." he replied a bit reluctantly. He had so many with memories in this place, he wasn't sure if you wanted to let it all go.

"Hmm...I guess we can hold off on that thought. You have plenty of time to figure it out," she reassured him.

"But-"

"No no. It's fine. I can pay for this house too. The bills won't be too high and the mortgage is almost paid off. Your mother did a fantastic job." Robin furrowed her eyebrows thinking of what she could do. She did have quite the stash of money, but how far could it go?

"Let's sell it," Inigo proposed suddenly.

"Are you sure? Don't make any rash decisions now."

"I'm certain, Robin. I don't think I'll ever to go back to this place. Even if I wanted to, there's no way I could live on my own here. It's too big for just me."

"If that's how you feel then I'll find somebody to take care of this then," said Robin. Inigo brightened at the prospect of her giving in. "Now that we're done, let's go home."

Home.

How odd it felt in his ears. He'll be living with someone he _sorta_ knew, but she was a beautiful lady, so he could cope. In all seriousness, he was excited and scared at the new development.

"Here we are!" the woman exclaimed when they stepped out of her car. She motioned her arms towards a simple, but cute, looking townhouse. She did some jazz hands for extra effect.

"Hello, new life."

* * *

Unpacking was painless. He settled into a room right across Robin's. There was a window with a great view. He placed a bed off to one side of the window and a desk on the other. His mother's photo was the only thing on the desktop at the moment. "How is everything?" a voiced called from the first floor. "It's great, Robin." "Well lunch is ready and I need you to come down."

He left his room and sauntered down the stairs. "Is there something you want to say?" he asked. Robin looked deep in thought.

"Hm. Yes I do! Come here," she beckoned the boy over to where she was sitting. He plopped himself down beside, but kept a bit of space.

"Now that you're here, I need to explain some things."

"But won't lunch get cold?"

"I didn't make lunch, that was just an excuse to get you down."

"But you didn't-"

"I know, but it's fun." Inigo was starting to question his choices. "Back to what I was saying. I am not going to adopt you. Keep your mouth closed for a bit, say what you need to say after I've said my piece. I could adopt you, it's not impossible, just very hard. Instead I'm just going to become your legal guardian." An 'o' formed on the boy's lips.

"I'll be your pseudo mother from now on. Though, I'm just six years older so it'll be awkward if you went around call me 'mom'. In light of this, just use Robin. Not Ms. Aegis. You could always call me Robbie, like you did last night." He blushed. "We're family now, no need for formalities."

"Yes, Robbie!" Inigo's mood just got brighter and brighter.

* * *

"Hey Robbie?"

"What is it Inigo?" the woman looked up from her work.

"What are you studying? You're a college student right?" The boy twiddled his thumbs while looking out of the window of Robin's room.

"I'm actually an architecture major so I'll be doing five years of schooling rather than four."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed."

He really wanted to ask how she was paying for medical expenses and all of the other necessities. The place they lived in now didn't seem very grand, yet she seemed to be able to pay off everything in full, no matter how expensive it may be. The money they made off of his previous house wasn't that much, relatively speaking. However, he shoved the thought aside, never returning to it again.

"I'm pretty skilled at planning so I'm able to procure a lot of free time. I'm even more motivated now that I have you here," she gave him a genuine smile. He felt his heart twinge.

"My, Robin, is my presence so intoxicating that you would want to stay with me some more?" Inigo gulped. Where in the world did _that_ come from!?

"Whoa there Casanova, I think you need to wait a bit if you want to hit on me." She sent him a wink and he blushed furiously.

"In any case, you need to get ready for school. It starts next week you know."

"I will!"

The boy was transferring to a new school. He wasn't sure how much he liked the idea, but school is school and he has to go. Robin was aware that he was a bit shy and noticed he had piercings on his left ear, something she didn't really expect. She decided that they needed some use and gave him some earrings. She figured that they would make him look cooler and gain him some confidence. He loved the gift, though was a bit unsure at the idea of a guy wearing jewelry or that they could even help him with his social problems. But now he wears them daily. One reason being that he loves the face Robin makes when she sees him sporting them.

* * *

Two years have passed and today was Inigo's birthday.

"I can't believe you're already sixteen," Robin said as she cried mock tears.

The teen let out a chuckle. "I can't believe it either, how I have been living with such a beautiful woman for two years already."

"Okay, okay stop flirting and start blowing out the candles." Truthfully, she felt a bit concerned for him. Such comments were becoming more and more frequent. She knew that that was him trying to be more social, but she didn't want him to form any romantic feelings towards her. The complications were obvious. Of course, she also reasoned, that he was just a teenager going through _that_ stage in his life. She usually let it slide.

Inigo blew out the last of the candles and the two ate the cake. "Let's hurry up and go!" he said a bit impatiently. Robin found his enthusiasm for plays and dances rather adorable. "Yes, right away!"

"I just loved the way that they danced, the choreography was well performed. Everything was just fantastic!" the whole time the boy was geeking out and raving about the play that they had just seen.

Over the years, Robin discovered the teen's adoration for dance, much to his chagrin. Now that the cat was out the bag, Inigo found it no use to try and hide it from her. But he did keep it a secret from a few of his friends...

"How about I build you a stage?"

"What?" he asked, brought back to reality. The two were both outside of their house by then.

"How about I build you a stage?" she repeated.

"Oh, that would be great! But I don't think I'd be able to perform. At least not in front of other people..." the fair-haired teen murmured the last part.

"That's alright, we can work on your people skills. By the time the stage is ready, you'll be ready too!"

Then Inigo did something he would regret, or not regret depending on how he looked at it. He pulled Robin into a tight hug and lifted her chin. Slowly, and a bit shakily, he placed his lips over hers. It wasn't too long before Robin returned the action, melting into his embrace. He probably shouldn't be doing this, but he was high on happiness so his morals at the moment were a sort of blurred. It didn't help that he _really_ wanted to do this for quite some time. The pair broke apart to gasp for air. Inigo gave her a quick peck on the mouth before moving towards her neck. A small whimper left Robin. Oh did that turn him on. Unfortunately, he had to stop his exploration when he felt a pair of hands on his sides.

"W-we can't." The woman hung her head low and placed it on his chest for a few seconds before adding, "You need to find someone you're age. This won't work between us." She was disappointed at herself for letting this happen.

"It can-"

"No, Inigo, that's not-" she stopped to rub her hands up and down his arms, clutching his hands when she finished. "Right now, I am your guardian. I want to make sure that you have the life that you deserve and fulfill what your mother, my friend, couldn't. I didn't want to say this either, but our age gap is pretty large."

"You never cared about that," the youth argued, almost whining.

"And I still don't, but society does." She felt so awful pulling the age stunt on him.

"Who cares about society? I was never social to begin with." Robin let out a light laugh at his last statement and squeezed his hands.

"Find someone who isn't me." Inigo felt her arms wrap around his one last time before they entered the house.

* * *

Sure enough, he did find someone, rather some_ones_. Robin saw him leave the home more frequently and with different girls no less. "Good for him. He needs to go out with others his age..." she made efforts to stay positive. Somehow, her heart wasn't feeling it. There was a noticeable pain her chest. Either it was from thinking about him or something else.

Inigo himself found his situation less than ideal. He went out with plenty of girls. Many were nice and liked him, but there were just as many who found him promiscuous, he wasn't by the way, or just disliked him from the get-go.

The sixteen-year old understood his feelings for Robin. He tried is darnedest to let those feelings go, but no matter how many ladies he's seen, her face just pops into his mind.

He was in deep.

* * *

It was graduating day. Not for Robin, though, she had done so a year ago. There ceremony was excruciatingly long. She perked up at the sound of Inigo's name and flashed him a smile and a thumbs up. His face flushed a bit as he shot her a grin back.

"You're done with high school, now on to college!" the woman cheered, her hair flouncing up and down as she did a little jump.

"Mmhm, Ylisse University is a place I can't wait to go to," Inigo hummed in agreement.

The school was nearby so he had no real reason to leave other than to get a taste of the independent life. And he wanted just that. When he relayed his feelings to Robin he saw the sadness in her body language. Still, this was a chance to sort out his feelings, maybe for her too.

"Then let's get you packed up."

* * *

He lived in an apartment. Robin was no longer his guardian. He was a legal adult and insisted that he could survive on his own. Reluctantly, she complied to his wishes.

It was tough.

"How did Robin do it?" Inigo wondered. It was not like he could ask her. Well he could, however he would much rather hear about it in person. And he hasn't seen her in person since he left for college. Sure, they kept in touch, but he had the intense desire to see her. As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Three days later, his wish was granted. Just not in the form that he would of liked.

"This is Inigo Palladino, yes?"

"That's me..."

"We just wanted to inform you that Robin Aegis is in the hospital."

"I understand. I'll be there soon, please give the address. And one more thing?"

"Yes?"

"Ms. Aegis is not my guardian anymore so I have no ties to her, why call me?"

"Sir, you were the only contact that she had left. In terms of family, you are the only one closest to that title right now."

"Okay, thank you."

After he was given the information, he hung up the phone. Oh gods. He was in a panic. Robin was hurt and he found out something that he may or may not have wanted to know. "I thought she had other relatives...? Oh."

_The only living relative was..._her grandfather. Boy did he feel awful for leaving her.

His arrival to the hospital was hasty. He asked the clerk at the front desk about the whereabouts of Robin then proceeded to speed walk towards her room. Two knocks.

"Come on," came a slightly hoarse voice.

Inigo opened the door and stared at the woman in front of him. "Don't be shy, come on in." Robin gestured her hand to a nearby seat. As he sat down, Inigo let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"How are-"

"Gods _Robin_! Y-you, you're laying down on this h-hospital bed as pale as a ghost and you never told me anything?" Robin froze at his outburst. He was usually so even tempered.

"It's just-" she attempted to start.

"All I got was a phone call that you were here. Did you know how worried sick I was? I haven't seen you in _three_ years, Robin. This was not how I wanted our reunion to go."

"It's just fatigue!" the woman was able to stumble out.

"That makes you even _more_ of an idiot. I know that you love to work, but you _really_ need some _sense_ knocked into your _stunningly beautiful_ head, you know that? Normally people rest when they get tired!" Inigo was near shouting.

"Dear, I'm so sorry," Robin whispered as she threaded her fingers through his light colored hair to try and soothe him. The man buried his face in his hands. "Hm...what was that?"

"I thought I had lost you," he murmured again. Her hazel eyes grew, comprehending the gravity of his words.

"Oh, no, Inigo I wouldn't ever leave you." She sat up in the bed and turned to face him. In a familiar manner, she placed her hands her both of his shoulders. He looked up.

"We haven't seen each other in three years. In all honesty, I missed you so much that it hurts. I think that's partly why I'm here right now," she confessed with a grin. Soon she felt the warmth of his arms wrap around her body. "I missed you so much as well, Robin," Inigo murmured into her neck. They stayed in that position until a nurse came by and let out a small cough. When the worker was done, the pair continued their conversation.

"So when will they let you out?" the light-haired man inquired.

"Tomorrow. They want me to rest a bit. Then I'm on a strict 'relaxation only' regime as they call it."

"Good, and though I always think that you look lovely, some beauty rest wouldn't hurt." Both of them laughed.

"Inigo?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

At the rate that his heart was going because of that statement, he was sure that the hospital would have to make room for him as well.

Inigo looked at her, but her hazel eyes shied away from his in embarrassment. Though, she was more scared for his reaction than anything else. Was this the best or worst day of his life so far?

"That's pretty cruel."

"I-"

"That's pretty cruel and I still love you. You know that?"

Robin looked slightly relieved at his words, but felt her guilt seep in. "I know I rejected you before-"

"And I know that that was for my own good. Even if it did hurt like hell. Well, I'm legal. We're legal, and we can make this work. Yes?"

"Yes!"

He leaned in to kiss her and she happily accepted.

"We have so much to do after you get out," the light-haired man grinned at her.

"I believe I am on a 'relax only' schedule. Or did you forget?" Robin smacked him playfully on his arm.

"Sweetheart," he whispered seductively into her ear, "I don't think you need to worry."

* * *

Sniffles. Crying. Wails. And the occasional nonsensical cheer.

Everyone in on the stage was filled with joy at the sight of the newlyweds. No one held back their emotions.

Not even the young man.

He, the husband of the now Robin Palladino, kept a rather large grin on his face. This garnered some comments: "If he keeps that up, his face will stay like that forever!" "It's a good thing he has a nice smile, Robin sure is lucky." "The two really seem to be enjoying themselves!"

His heart swelled at the words. They were right! As soon as he finished his schooling he wasted no time proposing to the woman he loved for more than half of his life. When she said yes he could have died of happiness right then. But that would have meant less time with Robin, and he didn't want that.

Inigo walked over to his wife with a silly grin still plastered on his face. "Hey beautiful."

"Hey handsome," the bride beamed. The man took her hand and led her across the stage.

"I can't believe that you built this," he breathed, still in awe at the magnificent structure.

Robin let out a hearty laugh. "Me neither! But it was _sooo_ worth it. Now you can perform whenever you please!"

"Oh my gods I love you so much!" Inigo exclaimed, peppering kisses all over her face. She couldn't help but giggle.

"I sure hope so, you did just marry me after all!" Her arms snaked their way around his waist and pulled him into an embrace.

"Hey," Inigo began.

"Hm?"

"After the ceremony we go on our honeymoon~!"

"Mmhm."

"You know what that means?"

"What?"

"We'll have all the time in the world to do what we want," the groom flashed her a suggestive grin... "Ouch, oh _Robbie_ you didn't need to smack me!"

"You can think about such things later."

"But I can't when you're always around me!" he pouted. He was cute, but dangerous. The light-haired man gave her another kiss and whisked away before she could reply.

"Hey!"

**THE END**

* * *

_A/N:_ _I hope that this was pretty enjoyable. I sure had a lot of fun writing this. Were you able to catch all of the parallels? If so, good for you! There aren't that many f!Robin x Inigo stories so I thought I'd contribute. This seemed like a nice scenario to write and I wanted to try it out. It's something different. Robin was purposefully left visually vague in case you wanted to make her like your own MU. Also, please forgive me for any inaccuracies regarding guardianship. I am a bad writer for not looking into things, so if you are offended, I am sorry.  
_

_Just a side note here, "aegis" means shield/protector and "palladino" means knight. Pretty fitting in my opinion. But I do regret not elaborating on it more. Now I was actually going to insert a sex scene, but this story didn't need it. Plus it probably would have ruined the mood, like I had just done by mentioning it._

_In any case, please do review! If I had made any typos or other things of the sort tell me. It's pretty embarrassing to have mistakes and not fix them.  
_


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